Would love to hear everyone's "RED FLAGS"

  1. Bargain hunters
  2. Guests who keep asking too many questions, or details of the house (I have included all necessary details in the listing)
  3. Local who only book 2 nights on a weekend (I don’t allow 1 night booking); i’ve had locals booking for weeks due to house renovation. These are no problems at all.
  4. And one filming request of course. It was really strange as my house is just average looking, not even close to being fancy, and one told me they need to film a few scenes at my property. Also I checked on the guest who requested, turned out to be a host with a very nice looking home. So very strange experience.
2 Likes

Any time a guest asks me “So, do you have any AirBnb hosting horror stories??”, they end up being one of them. Two for two on the guests who asked that “losing” my keys.

Guests who would rather text than communicate through the app. Now I just respond to their texts through the app, anyway.

5 Likes

We’ve only had 2 sets of other hosts stay at our place. The first were as you describe - snooty, nit-picky, horrible people who seemed to think it was their job to tear down everything about our guest room. The second set were absolutely wonderful! They were full of praise and their review was one of the best we’ve had.
I’d still think twice about hosting other hosts though. I think it would be hard for any host not to compare a place to their own.

3 Likes

I just had a host book my place so you are making me a bit nervos :slight_smile: However, I have been an Air guest at 5 properties and they were all so different, I couldn’t begin to compare them to my own.

2 Likes

Fingers crossed you get an amazing one like our second set!
Sorry, I didn’t mean to make anyone nervous. I guess what I was trying to say is you never know (just like any group), and maybe I’m wrong to think twice.
Good luck, I’m sure your guests will be great :blush:

1 Like

I’ve had 3 bookings from other hosts. 2 were wonderful and have become friends. They both expanded their Airbnb offerings by investing in rental property close to mine. We cheerfully drink wine together and steal one another’s “design on a budget” ideas.

The 3rd one left a nice public review but felt compelled to share in her private feedback a LONG list of improvement ideas that were impractical, extremely expensive or inappropriate for my market.

As Meatloaf said, “2 of out 3 ain’t bad.” (Folks under 50 yrs of age may need to google it).

7 Likes

We had that - over 1500 has words on how to “improve our listing” from a Host.

2 Likes

Haha well they booked it, so I guess you did alright. :slight_smile:

1 Like

Meatloaf! :metal: And I’m under 50.

2 Likes

Jack Nicholson also said it in “Mars Attacks”. :grinning::rofl:

2 Likes

@TuMo

Tim Burton (e.g. Mars Attacks) movies are among my favorite guilty pleasures. The female Martian spy gliding around the White House was a hoot. As the Martians say “Ack ack ack”.

1 Like

Anyone who thinks mentioning their religiousness will make me think better of them. Anyone who prefaces their inquiry with "i’m a Christian’ - as if that would make them somehow more attractive as a guest; usually the kind of person who unwaveringly accepts fantasy concepts as something to believe in unquestioningly is usually considered borderline psychotic and when they have decided that anyone who does not see the same fantasies as they do as enemies, infidels, or folks who will go to hell, then they are considered throughout the world as religious terrorists (except in the USA, where they are called ‘evangelicals’ and their cognitive dissonance allows them to happily live amongst us). Their condescension is the prelude to 3 star reviews if they discover that you do not share their preoccupation with genuflecting…

10 Likes

Even the smallest deception, such as how many people will be staying. Being unresponsive about arrival time, etc…
This is a good topic idea! Fortunately we haven’t had many bad guests, so our red flag experience is low.

2 Likes

Or letting me know they are vegetarian or vegan. Yeah so?

5 Likes

(whew!) you must have had a gulp of the same Kool-Aid I did earlier this evening…lends a new meaning to the word feisty.

3 Likes

I am glad I am not alone here. “Mother and daughter”, I thought I was just unlucky with them😀. I had few sets of mother/daughter group and all of them were annoying and difficult with different issues.
One group brought a baby into the pool house and mother babysat her all day crowding kitchen from floor to ceiling with baby food. Never mind that I don’t allow children and laundry for stays under 5 days, and there are 3 other guests in a house. She set herself in a living room turning on cartoons and did laundry non stop .
Another came for one day (40$) and wanted me to heat pool for them. Then they started cooking meat on vegetarian kitchen at 11 pm. And after all left me bad review claiming there were rats in a house. I have pest control coming once a month and there are only tiny lizards sometimes in the house that I really have no intentions to exterminate. It’s just part of South Florida living to see these cute creatures sometimes. they live tiny poop here and there . Here I can’t help. And flying in giant roaches too. So they said they saw rat poop and behind furniture it was dirty. First Of what are doing moving my furniture around?? Second it was not dirt, we had a slight water damage during huricane and it discolored tiles in the corners .
Then there was mother and daughter who wanted to extend for few weeks , and then before Christmas they bought tons of presents and sneaked out of the house without paying so quietly that for 2 days we didn’t know there was no one in the room😀.

3 Likes

May be they want to let you know that even if they cook there won’t be anything heavy and greasy and smelly

My #1 red flag…‘we know your listing is only for four people, but can we bring six? we have our own air mattress.’ I appreciate that they’re asking (and not lying to me) but they get an instant decline. Our home is only setup for four comfortably.

6 Likes

I was reminded of this thread this evening when I had an inquiry from someone who “just had a few questions”. I answered them politely and answered all their questions. They wanted to know about public transport in my area (all described in detail on the listing) and ‘whether there was heating and hot water’. Sigh. It’s winter, I live in a cold N European country. Of course there’s heating here, you stupid stupid person. We even have electricity and the internet too!

I can deal with a lot of strange and silly questions but that one just rubbed me up the wrong way. I don’t need someone who is SO clueless as to even ask such a thing.
So relieved when the message came through that “Dimwit no longer needs accommodation for these dates”.

7 Likes

Well Airbnb want you to tick hot water in the amenities list now !

2 Likes